--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Tao which you know is not the eternal…" description: "\"The Tao which you know is not the eternal Tao\" — Laozi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb6/laozi-147_eternal_the-tao-which-you-know-is-not-the-eterna_342825.jpg" --- # The Tao which you know is not the eternal Tao ![“The Tao which you know is not the eternal Tao” quote by Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb6/laozi-147_eternal_the-tao-which-you-know-is-not-the-eterna_342825.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb6/laozi-147_eternal_the-tao-which-you-know-is-not-the-eterna_342825.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb6/laozi-147_eternal_the-tao-which-you-know-is-not-the-eterna_342825.jpg) > “The Tao which you know is not the eternal Tao” [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our limited concepts cannot capture the true, unchanging nature of reality. **In simple terms:** Names are limited, truth is endless. Key Takeaway Accept mystery beyond labels. Themes philosophy spirituality knowledge humility Mood contemplative humble Type aphilosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - teaching - writing - dialogue - meditation Key Concepts Taoism epistemology metaphysics Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize the limits of your understanding? - What practices help you stay open to the unknown? A Different Perspective The quote may be misattributed or paraphrased. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Heaven and earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-and-earth/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Tao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tao/) ## Related quotes > [The Master keeps her mind always at one with the Tao; that is what gives her her radiance. The Tao is ungraspable. How can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-master-keeps-her-mind-always-at-one-with-the-tao-that-is-what/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The unnamable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-that-can-be-told-is-not-the-eternal-tao-the-name-that-can-be-2/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-that-can-be-told-is-not-the-eternal-tao-the-name-that-can-be/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-that-can-be-told-is-not-the-eternal-tao-the-name-that-can-be-3/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Without opening your door, you can open your heart to the world. Without looking out your window, you can see the essence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-opening-your-door-you-can-open-your-heart-to-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The Nameless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/the-tao-that-can-be-told-is-not-the-eternal-tao-the-name-that-can-be-5/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The Tao…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-w-dyer/the-tao-that-can-be-told-is-not-the-eternal-tao-the-name-that-can-be-4/) [Wayne W. Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-w-dyer/) > [The Tao is told is not the Tao.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-told-is-not-the-tao/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Tao is infinite, eternal. Why is it eternal? It was never born; thus it can never die. Why is it infinite? It has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-infinite-eternal-why-is-it-eternal-it-was-never-born-thus/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The great Way is easy, yet people prefer the side paths. Be aware when things are out of balance. Stay centered within the Tao.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-great-way-is-easy-yet-people-prefer-the-side-paths-be-aware-when-2/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every being in the universe is an expression of the Tao. It springs into existence, unconscious, perfect, free, takes on a physical body, lets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/every-being-in-the-universe-is-an-expression-of-the-tao-it-springs/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The great Way is easy, yet people prefer the side paths. Be aware when things are out of balance. Stay centered within the Tao.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-great-way-is-easy-yet-people-prefer-the-side-paths-be-aware-when/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Why is the tao so valuable? Because it is everywhere, and everyone can use it. This is why those who seek will find, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/why-is-the-tao-so-valuable-because-it-is-everywhere-and-everyone-can/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [There is a thing inherent and natural which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/there-is-a-thing-inherent-and-natural-which-existed-before-heaven-and/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## More by Laozi > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In lightness the root is lost. In haste the ruler is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-lightness-the-root-is-lost-in-haste-the-ruler-is-lost/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [If the sage wants to stand above people, he must speak to them from below. If he wants to lead people, he must follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/if-the-sage-wants-to-stand-above-people-he-must-speak-to-them-from/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Goodie-goodies are the thieves of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/goodie-goodies-are-the-thieves-of-virtue/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-that-humbles-himself-shall-be-preserved-entire-he-that-bends-shall/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Way of the Sage is to act but not to compete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-way-of-the-sage-is-to-act-but-not-to-compete/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Do nondoing, strive for nonstriving, savor the flavorless, regard the small as important, make much of little, repay enmity with virtue; plan for difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/do-nondoing-strive-for-nonstriving-savor-the-flavorless-regard-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Without looking through the window, you can see Heaven's Way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/without-looking-through-the-window-you-can-see-heaven-s-way/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What's the difference between beautiful and ugly?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-s-the-difference-between-beautiful-and-ugly/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In stillness the muddied water returns to clarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-stillness-the-muddied-water-returns-to-clarity/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [He (the sage) is good to those who are good. He is also good to those who are not good. That is the virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-the-sage-is-good-to-those-who-are-good-he-is-also-good-to-those/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [There is a thing inherent and natural which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/there-is-a-thing-inherent-and-natural-which-existed-before-heaven-and/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job? If you do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-is-a-good-man-but-a-bad-man-s-teacher-what-is-a-bad-man-but-a/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) [Explore all 1,140 Laozi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## More Eternal quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/i-remain-an-eternal-optimist-about-love-i-believe-in-love/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [The time has come for us to understand that the Eternal Feminine is the greatest power in this Universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/the-time-has-come-for-us-to-understand-that-the-eternal-feminine-is/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/we-are-eternal-all-this-pain-is-an-illusion/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [In some respects I will never die. Because art is immortal. What we leave behind and what we create - the energy that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/in-some-respects-i-will-never-die-because-art-is-immortal-what-we/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [The only way to have eternal love is to never let your heart forget what it’s like to live without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/the-only-way-to-have-eternal-love-is-to-never-let-your-heart-forget/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [In the course of our eternal existence, we spend infinitely more time in the spirit world on the other side than we spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/in-the-course-of-our-eternal-existence-we-spend-infinitely-more-time/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [The propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-propitious-smiles-of-heaven-can-never-be-expected-on-a-nation/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) [Browse all 3,280 Eternal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Tao which you know is not the eternal Tao", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laozi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-which-you-know-is-not-the-eternal-tao/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-which-you-know-is-not-the-eternal-tao/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb6/laozi-147_eternal_the-tao-which-you-know-is-not-the-eterna_342825.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb6/laozi-147_eternal_the-tao-which-you-know-is-not-the-eterna_342825.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb6/laozi-147_eternal_the-tao-which-you-know-is-not-the-eterna_342825.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Tao which you know is not the eternal Tao” — Laozi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Laozi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Tao which you know is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-which-you-know-is-not-the-eternal-tao/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-which-you-know-is-not-the-eternal-tao/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```